Erdoğan condemns Israeli intervention against worshippers at Al-Aqsa

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israeli attacks against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as he reiterated Turkey’s determination to stand in solidarity with Palestine amid violence.

In a phone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Sunday, Erdoğan said he strongly condemned Israeli intervention on Muslim worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He continued by telling Abbas that Turkey will stand against all types of provocations and threats against the status and spirituality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and stands in solidarity with Palestine.

The president noted that the ongoing events have shown the need for all Palestinian groups to work together for unity and reconciliation, as he thanked Abbas for his calls for calm and leadership for unity.

Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday as thousands gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Medics said more than 150 Palestinians were wounded in the most serious violence at the site in nearly a year.

The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and tensions were already heightened amid a recent wave of violence. Clashes at the site last year helped spark an 11-day war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The clashes come at a particularly sensitive time. Ramadan this year coincides with Passover, a major weeklong Jewish holiday beginning Friday at sundown, and Christian holy week, which culminates on Easter Sunday. The holidays are expected to bring tens of thousands of faithful into Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major sites sacred to all three religions.

Israel recently carried out a wave of arrests and military operations across the occupied West Bank, setting off clashes with Palestinians. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 17-year-old died early Friday from wounds suffered during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Jenin the day before.

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in the recent wave of violence, many of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in the clashes, but also an unarmed woman and a lawyer have been killed allegedly by mistake.